


The Darkness Within

by Dawn_Ruthless



Category: A Simple Favor (2018)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-26
Updated: 2019-07-13
Packaged: 2019-07-17 21:59:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 19,740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16104650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dawn_Ruthless/pseuds/Dawn_Ruthless
Summary: There is a darkness inside all of us, although it's not always obvious to the naked eye, especially in the form of Stephanie Smothers. Emily Nelson is a different story, she makes no effort to try and hide the darkness in her eyes. For some reason, Stephanie is drawn to that darkness, even though it may very well be the end of her.Slow burn...ishI took some liberties with the timeline (same order but stretched out to fit some extra scenes in)





	1. Unexpected Meetings and Real Martinis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stephanie meets the elusive Emily for the first time

It took only a glimpse to realise that Emily was beautiful, but not the type of beautiful I was used to. The women in the small town were very meek, and it showed in the way they spoke and the way they held themselves. Even the more outspoken women seemed to hunch in on themselves. 

Emily was different though. She stood tall and confident, her strong presence causing everyone around her to stop and stare. I was even more enamoured by her beauty than most, and I gravitated towards her as if Emily was the sun and I was the Earth. 

Once Emily reached the entrance to the school to pick up her son, I was close enough to see the ice in her eyes and the twisted tilt of her smile that showed the darkness within. Her cutting words and dismissive attitude should have caused me to run away from the woman as fast as possible, but for some reason it just had me more fascinated with the mysterious blonde.  
Despite rambling about chocolate martinis and making a total fool of myself, Nicky's persistence finally wore his mother down and she begrudgingly agreed to a play date. I was thrilled to spend more time with Emily, but I tried to hide my excitement to save myself from further embarrassment. 

Soon enough we had reached Emily's house and I looked around in amazement. The house was huge and immaculate, something that I didn't think was possible with a small child in the house. As we walked into the foyer, I came to a sudden halt, gaping at the massive painting on display.  
"Do you like it?" Emily asked. She seemed totally unashamed of the vivid painting of her very naked and exposed body.  
"How could you not?" I replied shakily, still staring in shock at the painting. I couldn't look away, my eyes tracing every inch of Emily's body, wondering if that's what she really looked like underneath those suits. I became very aware of how close Emily was standing, my heart beating faster as I felt the body heat of the beautiful woman next to me. I felt the urge to reach out and touch her, wanting to see if her skin felt as soft as it looked. I resisted though, chastising myself for having such thoughts about someone I had just met, and was also married.

We walked into the kitchen and Emily let out a casual curse.  
"Oopsie." I said without thinking, quickly realising my mistake when Emily looked at me with confusion. I was then forced to tell Emily about the 'oopsie jar', and started apologising profusely.  
"Don't say you're sorry. You don't need to do that. You don't need to apologise. It's a fucked up female habit. You don't need to be sorry for anything ever." Emily's face was deadpan as usual, but there was an intensity in her eyes that made me take the advice to heart. I tried to imagine a life where I wasn't constantly apologising for everything I did, a nasty habit I picked up after I married Davis. After all, if I just caved to his wishes, then I figured he wouldn't push for answers about Chris. Looking at Emily though, I found myself wanting to try, after all, it definitely seemed to be working for her.  
"That's great advice, thank you." As I spoke, i found I was unable to take my eyes off the woman in front of me. I already felt a strong connection to the enigma that was Emily, and wondered how I would survive once she inevitably got bored of me and left. It scared me to notice just how attached I had gotten in less than an hour, but the fear wasn't enough to make me pull away. 

Emily left me in the kitchen while she wandered off to find booze, and I got caught up in the soft but sensual music that was playing through the whole room. Without thinking, I started to sway my hips, the rest of my body quickly joining in the impromptu dance. As I turned around, I noticed Emily standing there watching me. I quickly stopped and started to ramble again, my cheeks going bright red as I wondered how long she had been standing there.  
"Come on, give me a little more." Emily said with a cheeky smile. I returned the smile, and unable to say no to her, began dancing a little more before laughing and joining Emily at the kitchen counter. 

Somehow the topic of conversation turned to the untimely death of my husband and brother, and how I lost the two most important men in my life.  
"Normally sad stories don't get to me, but that one...that one did. That was brutal." Although Emily's face remained impassive, there was a slight edge to her voice that proved that Emily was not unaffected by my story. I realised that such a depressing topic probably wasn't the best conversation choice, especially since it was the first time I'd actually spent time with Emily. Attempting to backtrack, I once again starting apologizing profusely.  
"Baby, if you apologize again, I'm going to have to slap the sorry out of you." Emily responded sharply, but I could sense the teasing in her tone. More than that though, I was focused on the fact that Emily had just called me baby. I figured that it was just something that Emily said to everyone, but still couldn't help being affected by it. I shuffled in my seat and there was a glint in Emily's eye that showed that she knew exactly what I was thinking. We spoke a little more before Emily caught me off guard again, making me wonder if she actually was doing it on purpose.  
"So are you dating anyone?" Emily asked, looking me dead in the eye, waiting for a reaction. Of course, I started rambling about my poor attempts at dating and my hesitation to continue using dating sites after a lady's head was found in a trash can. My rambling caused a rare smile to appear on Emily's face.  
"Come on baby, you're too sexy to give up." Emily held eye contact until I was forced to look down at the kitchen bench as if it was the most fascinating thing in the world. I hoped Emily couldn't see my incredibly red face, but knew that she definitely had. I tried to respond as casually as I could, but I'm pretty sure Emily could tell just how much the compliment affected me.  
"That's nice. I don't know..." I didn't know how to finish my sentence, but Emily swooped in to save me from having to try.  
"If your head's gonna turn up in a trash can, then your head's gonna turn up in a trash can." Emily's response was so glib that I only just managed to hold in a laugh, once again shocked but also highly fascinated by Emily's attitude towards pretty much everything.  
The conversation flowed so easily between us, even hard topics seeming easy with Emily. It seemed like she felt the same from her easy posture, although I couldn't know for sure. I spoke about my late husband's life insurance and Emily about their inability to sell the house. I was shocked that Emily wanted to sell the house and joked about how I would love to live there.  
"Then you should move in." Emily handed me a martini as she spoke, and I almost dropped it in surprise. Emily's tone made it sound like a joke, but her smile and burning eyes said otherwise. I imagined living in this house with Emily, spending the days with our kids and the afternoons drinking martinis while talking about anything and everything. I also couldn't help thinking about how we could spend our nights, conveniently forgetting Emily's husband. 

I was torn from my daydream when said husband barged in, interrupting our conversation and complaining about a car blocking the driveway. Not wanting to be rude, I quickly piped up.  
"Oh that's mine, I'm sorry!" I said without thinking, quickly being cut off by Emily.  
"You're what?" Her voice was sharp, and I winced at my mistake. I explained to Sean that Emily was trying to teach me to stop apologising, and Sean pulled Emily closer to him, commenting that maybe Emily should apologise more. I found myself disagreeing with him, thinking that there was a certain sense in not apologising to anyone, especially over trivial things. The habit would be hard to break though. The couple held onto each other, alternating between kissing and talking to me. Meanwhile, I sat there like an awkward third wheel, trying to ignore the jealousy burning through my blood. I tried to sound unaffected in my responses, and while Sean seemed blissfully unaware of my discomfort, Emily looked at me like she could see right through me. It simultaneously scared and invigorated me knowing that Emily could read me so easily. I soon realised that Emily was doing it on purpose, the cheeky looks thrown my way proving my suspicions that Emily wanted me to be jealous. The question was why?


	2. Dark Humour and Distractions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Confessions, dinner preparations and not so subtle innuendos

The next time I saw Emily, the blonde was once again wearing a suit that looked impossibly good on her. She had come to pick up Nicky from the park where I had taken them after school. I dragged my gaze up and down her body, appreciating the view. She gave me a look and I knew I was caught, so I quickly started talking before she could call me on it. Our conversation about parenting took a quick turn with one of Emily's blunt responses.  
"The best thing I can do for Nicky is to blow my brains out." She said nonchalantly, once again catching me off guard. I recovered quickly though, already somewhat used to Emily's sense of humour. If anything, I was starting to appreciate her sharp comments and dark wit. I could feel Emily's attitude and presence calling to something within myself that I'd long forgotten had even existed. It was intoxicating and I wanted more, which only caused me to be that much more excited when Emily invited me over. Although 'invited' is probably a loose term, as Emily pretty much commanded me to follow her. Not that I was complaining. 

The sun had not yet set, but already we were situated on Emily's couch, martinis in hand and drunken confessions flying. Emily told me about a threesome with Sean's TA, information which I was a little too interested in. I pictured Emily with another woman, pressed together, moans escaping them. Soon though, the image was no longer of Emily and some nameless TA, but of Emily and I, bodies intertwined, my hands running along Emily's soft skin, tongues caressing. I had to stop herself from moaning out loud, not that it seemed to make a difference since Emily always seemed to know what I was thinking anyway. I tried to play it cool, but failed miserably, although Emily's hand on my leg made me feel a lot better about the situation. The nervousness returned when it was my turn to share my confession, but after Emily basically forced the full story out of me, I certainly did not get the reaction I was expecting. Instead of being disgusted and asking me to leave, Emily cracked up laughing, a sound that I couldn't help but enjoy, despite the fact that Emily was laughing at me.  
"Brother Fucker!" Emily continued to crack jokes but never once looked at me with judgement in her eyes. If anything, she actually seemed intrigued, as if she were starting to realize that there was more to me than meets the eye. She actually made me start to believe it too. The conversation ended with Emily inviting me to stay for dinner, an invitation that I quickly accepted, promising to make a meal so great that Emily would regret being mean to me. 

I decided on making roast pork with my famous crackling for dinner. Not only was I great at making it, but the meal would also take several hours to prepare and cook, ensuring I had more time with the enchanting woman currently leaning on the bench next to me. Although I doubt any amount of time would ever seem like enough.  
"It smells great." Emily commented, taking a sip of her martini while she watched me cut up the potato that would soon join the pork in the oven.  
"It'll taste even better." I promised, preparing to slice through another potato.  
"I don't doubt that." Emily whispered, and I jumped when I felt her breath against my neck, not realizing she had gotten so close. My brief flinch caused the knife to slide off the potato and instead carve a sizeable gash in the palm of my hand.  
"Fuck!" I cursed, dropping the bloody knife on the table.  
"Oopsie." Emily said, obviously taking a good-natured jab at the tradition Miles and I had at home. Despite her joke though, Emily quickly grabbed my hand and pulled me to the sink, turning the tap on and letting the water run over my injured hand. Unlike her personality, Emily's hands were gentle, turning my hand over to wash all the blood off, instructing me to hold it there while she grabbed a paper towel. I did as she asked, and she returned not long after with paper towels and a first aid kit. She pressed the paper towel onto the wound, holding it there until the bleeding had slowed down a little. She pulled out some rubbing alcohol and poured it onto a clean cloth, removing the paper towel and replacing it with the alcohol cloth. I winced as the burning liquid touched the open wound, but the feel of Emily's other hand holding mine in place gave me the motivation to suck it up and hold still. Her skin was cool, a stark contrast to the warmth of mine. Once she had finished disinfecting the wound, Emily quickly bandaged it with easy precision, making me marvel at how neat it turned out.  
"Well you are definitely less than of a baby than Sean is whenever he hurts himself." Emily remarked with a smirk, and I laughed as I imagined Sean whining over a splinter or something.  
"Well do I get a treat since I was such a good girl?" I quipped lightly, only noticing how it sounded after Emily gave me a wicked smile.  
"And what kind of treat are you after Stephanie?" She leaned closer again, her lips just barely grazing my neck, reminding me of how I hurt my hand in the first place. I shivered at the proximity, unconsciously tilting my neck to give her better access.  
"Um...I..." I stuttered out, unable to form a coherent sentence. Without warning, Emily had stepped away from me, leaving me cold and craving the close proximity again. She grabbed the knife and cutting board I had been using and placed them in the sink, grabbing fresh ones out to replace them.  
"I'd better finish these off or they won't be ready in time." She said, seeming completely unaffected by our conversation, but I could tell from the slight twitching of her lips that I hadn't imagined the innuendo.  
"At least something's getting finished off." I muttered, a little disappointed, but also feeling a little relieved. Even though I was attracted to Emily, I don't know if I'd have any idea how to please a woman like her. Not only did she look like a runway model, but judging by her confession earlier, she was far from inexperienced in the bedroom, men and women alike.  
"What was that? Don't mumble baby." She said without looking up from the potatoes. There was that damn pet name again, sending warmth through my body.  
"Nothing, just...wondering whether I should put herbs on the potatoes." I stumbled through the lie, hoping she wouldn't notice.  
"You're a terrible liar." Busted. "And you're not putting herbs on anything cripple. I'm finishing this and you're sitting your ass down while I finish dinner." She ordered and as usual, I was unable to argue with her demands, sitting down immediately. She finished cutting up the potatoes, covering them in oil and mixed herbs before putting them in the oven. After rinsing all the dishes and putting them in the dishwasher, Emily reached inside the freezer for more gin and glasses, topping up our drinks.  
"Making dinner and serving me a fancy martini, I feel like a queen." I joked, taking the glass from her.  
"You made most of the dinner. And baby, if I was going to treat you like a queen, it would involve a lot less clothes." Emily responded without missing a beat, and her response had me choking on my drink, my dirty thoughts from earlier returning full force.  
"You're going to be the death of me woman."


	3. Wicked Ways and Challenges

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Martinis are consumed and challenges are made.

The dreams had started. They were all a little different, sometimes she was in the kitchen, or the living room, although very rarely in the bedroom, surprisingly. The one aspect that remained consistent in all the dreams though, was that Emily was always there. Some of them were pretty normal, Emily and I would be making dinner in the kitchen and cracking jokes like we always did. Other times we would be playing with the boys, something that I actually hadn't seen Emily do yet, despite how much she obviously loved her son. Others were not so PG rated, and they were oh so frustrating. The dream would still start in the kitchen, or the living room, or even the bathroom. We would flirt for a bit but out of nowhere, someone would make a move and there would be kissing, and Emily running her hands along my skin. Yet every time I would try to touch her, even in a dream, she would grab my wrists and pin them to the wall, or the counter. Sometimes I would struggle, desperate to touch her, but just looking at the two of us would reveal just how pointless that endeavour was. So even when she was right in front of me, lips attached to mine, she had never felt so far away.

These reoccurring dreams had become a bit of a problem, especially when I brought Miles over for almost daily play dates with Nicky. I had always been in awe of Emily, my nervousness in her presence always causing me to make an idiot of myself, but now it was worse. It took me five minutes just to knock on the door, with Miles impatiently pulling on my sleeve and asking why I was taking so long. As soon as Emily opened the door, Miles ran inside and straight up to Nicky's room while I was stuck frozen on the other side of the door. Emily gave me a quizzical look as I continued to stand there, my face rapidly warming as I watched her while simultaneously remembering the dreams running rampant through my mind.  
"Are you okay?" She asked, quirking an eyebrow at my odd behaviour. I blushed even further and shook off the stupor that had overtaken me, trying to brush off the images.  
"Um yeah, sorry! Just a bit tired I guess, no rest for the wicked!" I said too loudly and with an awkward laugh. Emily rolled her eyes and grabbed my hand to pull me inside.  
"You're being weirder than normal. And you are the least wicked person I've ever met." She said with a snort, and damn, how is she the one person that can pull off a snort without it being unattractive.  
"Hey, I can be wicked if I want to be!" I called out, speed walking to keep up with her as we made our way down the hallway and into the kitchen. Emily instantly went to the fridge to grab out the ingredients for our usual martinis. Luckily it was a Saturday so I didn't have to worry about having getting up early to take Miles to school. I could tell from the mischievous look in Emily's eyes that she wasn't going to let me get away with having just a martini or two. 

"Name one wicked thing you've done apart from fucking your brother?" She said it so casually, as if it literally didn't phase her at all. Which I guess when you're Emily Nelson, it probably didn't, because nothing seemed to bother that woman. Except getting her photo taken. Won't make that mistake again. I tried to think of a response to her question that wouldn't be a lie.  
"Uh, I stole a pack of crayons from the store once." I replied, cursing myself as I realised how tame that would sound to the woman.  
"For Miles?" She questioned, already looking amused by this story. I cleared my throat in embarrassment.  
"No, for me. I was six." I said sheepishly, but instead of leaving it there, I had to dig myself in deeper. "I actually forgot I was carrying them and just walked out with them still tucked under my arm. Then I freaked out when I realised and took them back." I closed my eyes and simultaneously cursed my word vomit that made me sound like the single most boring person in history. A low chuckle had me flashing my eyes open to stare at the beautiful woman took across the counter from me. Despite myself, a small smile crossed my lips at the sound, even with the joke being at my expense.  
"You're adorable." Emily responded, handing over a freshly made martini. I took a sip, marvelling at the fact that they were always so delicious, despite being almost pure alcohol.  
"Yeah yeah." I muttered, taking a gulp of my drink this time.  
"So obviously you're not much for illegal pursuits." She send a wink my way and leaned over to rest her forearms on the counter. The position put her much closer to me, and the smell of her perfume pretty much dissolved what rational thought I had left. Which led me to once again spilling way too much information, even though I had yet to finish a single drink.  
"Not really, I tend to save my wickedness for...other things." The pause was enough for Emily to latch onto it, a knowing smile on her face.  
"Oh, do tell." She was like a siren, her low voice luring me in to my eventual demise.  
"I guess you could say my usual awkwardness disappears in the bedroom." I was surprised with how confident I sounded, not a single stutter or squeaked out word. Emily leaned even closer now so she could reach one hand up to trail it down my neck and to the beginning of my cleavage before pulling her hand away, although she stayed close, continuing to confuse my thoughts. I could tell she was really liking this conversation, and her next question proved it.  
"Is that so? And what wicked things do you do in the bedroom Stephanie?" Emily asked, a roughness to her voice making me believe that she was not as unaffected by this conversation as she was trying to portray. Feeling the ball slowly rolling back into my court, I was the one leaning in now, my lips stopping right beside her ear.  
"It's easier to show you than tell you." I murmured, purposely letting my lips brush the slightest bit again her ear. Emily's breath caught in her throat, knowing if I had been any further away, I probably wouldn't have heard it. She pulled back the slightest amount so now her face was right in front of mine, and she was making no effort to hide the fact that she was gazing at my lips as she bit lightly onto her own. She started leaning in when...  
"Mum we're starving! Can we have pizza again?" The loud voices echoed around the house, two sets of running footsteps quickly adding to the commotion. I pulled back from Emily like someone had lit my ass on fire, whereas the unflappable goddess casually pulled back to her side of the counter, picked up her drink and took a sip as the two boys bounded around the corner.  
"Miles, no running in the house buddy." I scolded gently, and he dropped his head in shame.  
"Sorry mum." He mumbled, although it only took him about two seconds to perk back up. "So can we have pizza? Pretty please?" The two boys continued begging while I just watched them in amusement before turning to Emily for her input. She just shrugged so I smiled at the boys and told them I'd order it. They started squealing in excitement until Emily interrupted them.  
"But only if you go play in Nicky's room until it gets here." She said, directing them upstairs. Without needing to be told twice, the boys were running back upstairs, talking about what game to play next, conveniently not hearing my calls for them to slow down. I rolled my eyes and turned back to continue my conversation with Emily only to find that she had moved around the counter and was now right behind me.  
"Now where were we?" She murmured, lightly resting one hand on my hip, slowly pulling me closer.  
"Emily? Stephanie, are you here too? I saw your car out the front." Sean's cheerful voice filtered through from the front door and Emily let out a light groan of annoyance as she let me go and stepped back.  
"What's the matter? Can't get enough of me?" I teased. It seemed the more I was around her, the more confident I got.  
"I'll have you begging for me to kiss you soon enough." She promised, which I took as a challenge.  
"We'll see who's begging who." I said, and Emily narrowed her eyes at the challenge.  
"Can't wait." She said with a simple kiss to my cheek before she walked away to greet Sean at the door. As soon as she was gone I let out a huff of breath.

What had I gotten myself into?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BTDubs, that crayon story is actually true, except I was around twelve, not six, and it was textas. I thought I was gonna get arrested XD


	4. Insightful Children and Persistent Blondes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stephanie spends some time with Miles, who sees more than his mum realises. Emily doesn't like being ignored.

It was killing me trying to keep my thoughts and hands to myself. Sometimes I would catch myself moving too close to her and having to force myself to put more distance between us. A fact that she never ceases to complain about. My fierce competitiveness held my hand though, I was determined to have her begging for me like I promised. I wondered what type of person it made me, only resisting for the game Emily and I were playing, not because of the husband that was still very much in the picture. When he was home I had all the more incentive to keep my distance, seeing them together made me feel nauseous and reminded me that Emily wasn't mine to take.  
  
I actually liked Sean, he seemed like a decent person from what little I've interacted with him, and that did make me feel a little bad considering I couldn't stop thinking about all the things that I wanted to do with his wife. As bad as it sounds, the second he leaves the room it's like I totally forget that he exists. There is just something about Emily that draws you in. When she focuses her gaze on you, it makes you feel as if you are the only person in the world. It's sounds very cliche, but it's true. Emily was...magnetic. That intense energy was in everything she did, everything she said, and it was intoxicating. The intensity also felt a little twisted, like a siren call that I knew would lead to my demise, but one that I could not ignore nonetheless. Not that it stopped me from trying.

I forced myself to spend more time at home, busying myself by coming up with ideas for more vlog videos. Miles had started to complain about not seeing Nicky in a few days but I just kept coming up with excuses as to why we couldn't visit. Obviously I couldn't tell him that I was avoiding Emily so I wouldn't cave into her and do something stupid. It was now Wednesday and tonight's distraction came in the form of dinner at Taco Bell. Miles dug enthusiastically into his food while I distractedly picked at mine.  
"Why are you eating so slow mum? You love Taco Bell." Miles said with his mouth full, causing a piece of chicken to fall out of his mouth and back onto his plate.  
"What have I said about talking with food in your mouth?" I admonished gently, and Miles hastily swallowed his food before speaking again.  
"Sorry mum. Are you sick though?" He said, pointing at my barely touched meal.  
"I'm fine, thanks buddy. Just zoned out for a second." I reassured him, smiling at the young boy's concern for my welfare. I took a big bite of my taco to placate my son and seemingly appeased, he went back to tearing into his own food.

It was about five minutes later that Miles finished his meal, and the second he swallowed his last bite, he was back to questioning me.  
"Why haven't we gone to see Nicky and his mum for so long?" Miles sounded a bit downtrodden and it made me feel guilty that my own personal issues were taking away Miles' time with his friend.  
"It's only been a few days sweetie, and I've just been super busy. We'll go soon I promise." I ruffled his hair and he shrieked, quickly pulling away and trying to fix it, which only resulted in him getting a piece of corn chip in his hair. I held in a laugh and pulled it out before fixing his hair for him while he sat there and pouted.  
"It feels like longer. I miss Nicky. Don't you miss Emily?" I had just taken a sip of drink when he asked his question, and I coughed mid sip, needing a minute to calm my coughing fit when the liquid went down the wrong pipe.  
"Why do you ask?" Another cough broke up the question and Miles pat my back, an innocently helpful look on his face that made me melt.  
"Well you two always hang out together, even when Nicky is out with Sean, and you always sit really close together. So you must really like her, right?" His young face was so pure and lacking of any suspicion, so I'm assuming he had no clue what he was actually witnessing. Although it did make me think that maybe I should be a little more careful when it came to my obvious affection toward Emily.  
"Well yeah buddy, we're good friends now." I leaned in close as if I was about to tell him a big secret. He leaned closer instinctively, and I whispered in his ear. "Can I tell you a secret?" I asked. He bounced excitedly in his chair, as excited as all children are when they think they are privy to information that no one else knows.  
"Yes! Tell me, tell me!" He clapped his hands and leaned back in.  
"Emily is probably my best friend." I whispered, and he grinned.  
"Cool! That means Nicky and I are best friends and our mums are best friends too!" Miles was far more excited about the information than I thought he was going to be, but his reaction made me laugh.  
"Time to go home little man?"

I watched the clock tick over to midnight and groaned, face planting back into the pillows. I had put Miles to bed ages ago, but I was still unable to wind down enough to sleep myself. Which sucked considering I had to be up by 6 to get Miles ready for school. I let out another groan when my phone vibrated with a notification. I fumbled in the dark and grabbed my phone, unlocking it to read the message. It was from Emily.  
_Let me in_.  
It was short, to the point, and so very Emily that I found myself smiling. The smile was quickly followed by panicking. She was here? Why was she here? And so late? I quickly sent a message back.  
_It's past midnight_!  
While I waited for a response, I jumped out of bed, grabbing a hairbrush and yanking it through my hair. My phone vibrated again and I snatched it up.  
_So? Hurry up, it's fucking cold out here._  
I shook my head but couldn't help a small smile as I rushed to the door.

I quietly opened the front door, motioning for Emily to remain quiet since Miles was sleeping. Emily just nodded in agreement and followed me in. Her eyes roved up and down my form and it was then that I realised I hadn't thought to put on a more...suitable outfit. I was currently in just my boy shorts and tank top. I blushed at the look in her eyes, but chose not to comment. Against my better judgement, I led her back to my bedroom, knowing that Miles would be able to hear us talking in any of the main rooms if he woke up. The logic didn't dissuade the smirk from Emily's face though as she made herself comfortable on my bed. She lay on her stomach and pat the spot next to her. I took a deep breath and moved to sit on the bed, crossing my legs to sit facing her.

"So, what's up?" I asked awkwardly, trying not to sound suspicious, even though I had a pretty good idea of why she was here.  
"You've been avoiding me." She didn't bother beating around the bush, and even though I should have expected that, it still caught me off guard. I stammered out a very unbelievable denial, to which she just rolled her eyes at.  
"I've just been really busy." I tried to save face but I could tell Emily didn't buy my bullshit for a second.  
"You've never lied to me before. Why now?" She stared me directly in the eyes and I was once again caught in her trap.  
"I'm sorry. I was going to come over soon I promise. You can even ask Miles in the morning." I tried to divert the conversation so she wouldn't catch onto the fact that I never actually explained why I was ignoring her. Her eye twitched at the apology, but for once, she didn't comment, obviously more focused on other things. She actually looked hurt, even through her icy exterior, and I made a promise to myself to never put that look on her face again. She accepted my diversion though, probably because she caught onto something else.  
"In the morning? Is that an invitation to stay over?" She purred, pushing herself onto her elbows so she was closer to my height. I hadn't actually meant it as an invitation when I said it, but I also couldn't resist agreeing.  
"If you'd like, but I actually do have to sleep. I have to be up in..." I checked my clock, "three hours." I blinked at the clock, wondering where the time had gone.  
"That's okay, I'm exhausted anyway. Between Nicky and Sean, it's like I've got two children." She groans, flopping back to the bed. I laughed and went into my closet to find Emily something to sleep in. My nerves were going haywire as I watched Emily stretch out on my bed.  
Emily. On my bed. Fuck.  
I pulled out a pair of sleep shorts and a singlet, throwing them to the taller woman. She got changed without even waiting for me to turn away, and I found myself unable to. My eyes traced her long legs, up the lines of her stomach and over the curves of her breasts above her bra. I had never seen a more magnificent creature in my life. It was hard to believe that she was real, and about to be sleeping less than a foot away from me.  
"Want a picture?" Emily teased, easily noticing my wandering eyes and reveling in it. I turned my heated gaze to her face, but refusing to verbally boost her ego.  
"So original." I sassed back, crawling on the bed next to Emily. I tried to keep space between us but the blonde was having none of it. She reached over to turn the lamp off and shuffled close to me, resting just close enough for me to feel the soft skin of her legs brushing against mine. She didn't try anything further, but I could still feel her pressed against me, as her light breath brushed over my cheek. It was safe to say I didn't end up getting much sleep that night.


	5. Sleepovers and Mild Freak Outs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stephanie freaks out, Emily is calm and takes no shit. Just the usual.

Waking up brought with it a sense of warmth and comfort that I didn't normally feel in my cheap IKEA bed. It didn't take me long to realise what was different though. Emily was still fast asleep, oblivious to the fact that I had been asleep on her chest, my head tucked under her neck. My arm had a monkey like grip around her abdomen and I quickly but carefully removed it before she could wake up. I tried to escape but found I couldn't move due to the arm that was holding me closer to the other woman. Even weirder was the fact that my first thought was 'of course her long ass limbs fit all the way around me'. Closely followed by the very coherent train of thought saying 'fuck fuck fuck, she's gonna freak! I'M freaking!' I may have only met Emily a few weeks ago, but I feel like I knew her well enough to see that she wasn't a cuddler. 'Not a waking cuddler at least', I thought, staring at the arm wrapped around me like a vice.

I eventually managed to free myself and crept downstairs without waking Emily, which was a feat onto itself. I was almost tempted to wake Miles and walk straight out of the door to save myself from further awkwardness, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. Plus, knowing Emily, she would just wait until I got home to question me. I mean, she did turn up here at midnight because I wasn't answering her text. Instead of running out, I let myself run on my mum instincts and started making breakfast for two of the only people that mattered in my life. I would say the ONLY two, but I've found myself feeling protective over Nicky too, even though he isn't my kid. He is best friends with Miles though, so I'll pretend that's why I care about him so much. Not because he's an amazing spitfire of a child. Not because he befriended Miles and is one of the only people to make my own son feel special. Nor is it because he's Emily's child. Oh wait, all of those reasons are exactly why.

Breakfast was almost finished when I heard footsteps treading lightly into the kitchen. I deliberately kept my eyes on the pan in front of me, but I was unable to keep up the act once a warm set of arms wrapped around me.  
"This smells delicious, but I'm not sure it's worth waking up to an empty bed." The husky voice was right next to my ear and I shivered in response, causing a light chuckle to reverberate against my throat. I was stuck. Literally, because smooth hands were pressed on to the counter either side of the stove. And metaphorically, because I wanted her more than anything, but the way she was talking was so...couply. And considering she had a husband at home, I was well aware that we weren't a couple.  
"Well someone has to cook, and it's not gonna be Miles." I turned around to face her, grabbing her arms and moving us a foot to the left so the stove wouldn't set my shirt on fire. I'd love to feel hot, but definitely not in that way.  
"Hmm, how about I cook for you next time?" Emily suggested. I froze in shock. This gorgeous woman who shows confidence in everything she does, wants to cook for me. Meaning she also wants another morning together, and it wasn't a fluke that she came to me last night. Or maybe it is and I'm overthinking. Oh fuck, the bacon's burning.  
"Dammit." I cursed, ripping the bacon off the stove and putting it on the plate I'd put aside earlier.  
"Mmm how did you know crispy bacon was my favourite?" She murmured in my ear, her hands coming to rest on my hips while I transferred the last of the bacon.  
"Please, hardly anyone likes their bacon this crispy except Miles and I." I scoffed, cracking eggs into the pan.  
"If it's not cooked properly, you may as well eat ham." Emily retorted, and I laughed, a pure unadulterated laugh. The lightness in my head made me feel high, it brought me back to my high school days when I would smoke up with my friends after school.  
"You're way hotter than my stoner friends." I said, not realising I'd said it out loud until Emily tightened her grip, pulling me impossibly closer to her.  
"Stoner friends huh?" She questioned. I could tell she was about to push for more details when Miles came running downstairs.  
"BACON!" He screamed while running from his bedroom, obviously smelling the fatty excuse for breakfast. His entrance was so sudden that Emily had no time to pull back from me.  
"Why are you hugging my mum? Is it a group hug?" He asked, his innocent question breaking the mood, although of course I couldn't be mad at that face.  
"Once you get over here it will be!" I exclaimed in the bubbliest voice I could muster. In the time it took me to blink, his arms were wrapped around both of our legs, a huge smile breaking across my face as I looked at my son. I had never seen a creature so full of love and kindness for everyone. I turned my gaze back to Emily, who looked slightly bewildered and who's hands were currently glued to the same spot on my waist as if she didn't know what to do. Seeing that my son has his face buried in our legs, I felt safe to give Emily a comforting smile and run a hand down her cheek.  
"It's okay." I whispered barely audibly next to her ear. Emily visibly gulped before resting her hand on Miles' head.  
"Hey buddy." She cooed, dropping to her knees so they were face to face. "Do you want to help me set the table so your mum can focus on not overcooking the eggs?" She asked, holding out a hand for him to grab on to. Her words reminded me of the eggs that were still cooking on the stove.  
"Shit." I cursed, flipping the eggs, although I was glad to find they hadn't managed to overcook despite my distractions.  
"Oopsie!" Miles exclaimed. Being a firm believer in not having double standards, I quickly grabbed my wallet and put a dollar in the 'oopsie' jar while Miles giggled at my slip up. He then crossed to the other side of the kitchen and tried to reach the plates from the top cupboard. He tried climbing the shelves, but before I could scold him, Emily was already pulling him down.  
"I don't think you should be climbing those shelves Miles." Her tone was stern, but not harsh, and she quickly grabbed the plates and brought them down to Miles level so he could grab them.  
"Thanks Emily!" He said with a smile, before running off to set the table.  
"He's a sweet kid. You've raised him well." Emily stood in front of me now, and her words meant more than anything else she's ever said to me.  
"Thank you." My reply was simple, but my gentle touch running down her arm said more than my words ever could.  
"Let's eat." There was more I wanted to say, but with the eggs almost burning, and Miles waiting eagerly at the table, it certainly wasn't the right moment. Emily seemed to get where I was coming from, and said nothing untoward.  
"Of course. No slumber party is right without a yummy breakfast, isn't that right buddy?" Emily posed her question to Miles, who wholeheartedly agreed.  
"I'm so glad that you're here, cause mum said you are her best friend. But can you bring my best friend next time?" Miles asked, his pout too adorable to ignore.  
"I'll ask him." Emily promised with a smile. Luckily, Emily's 'sweet' smile was convincing enough for Miles, and he never noticed her hand resting casually on my thigh through the entirety of breakfast.


	6. Waterslides and Willpower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys catch up while the game continues between Emily and Stephanie

“I bet I can slide further than you!” I heard Nicky challenging Miles from the backyard. Earlier, Emily had called Sean to tell him to bring Nicky over for a playdate since he hadn’t since Miles in a few days. Apparently in child time, a few days is ‘like forever’, according to Miles. After dropping Nicky off, Emily told Sean in no uncertain terms that he was to do the grocery shopping, and that she would bring Nicky home later. Being the smart man that he is, Sean knew better than to argue, and disappeared with nothing more than an eye roll at the dismissal.

The happy squeals of our sons drew my gaze to the kitchen window, through which I could see the boys having the time of their lives on a DIY waterslide. I definitely knew what was going to be on my next blog. A tarp, dishwashing liquid, and water equals hours of fun for the kids and a bit of a break for parents. It’s a win win.  
“So you never told me about these stoner friends of yours.” Emily teased, referencing my earlier comment about her being hotter than my high school stoner friends. I cringed at the fact that she caught onto that titbit of information, but knowing Emily, I would be more surprised if she hadn’t noticed what I’d said.  
“Uh, yeah. I drank sometimes, but weed felt more in my element I guess?” I attempted to explain, even though I knew it wouldn’t make much of a difference.  
“So you were more comfortable with the illegal substance? Makes sense…” She deadpanned, and despite my best efforts, I couldn’t work out what she was thinking. So obviously, I decided to continue making a fool of myself by digging myself into an even deeper hole.  
“I mean yeah, it’s illegal, but you don’t embarrass yourself nearly as much than if you were drinking. Most of the time anyway…” I stuttered out, my face becoming a brighter red every second. Emily obviously saw my discomfort and grinned at me.  
“I’m just fucking with you baby, I totally get what you mean about weed being more…relaxed. I guess I just personally prefer alcohol and how it allows you to forget all of your inhibitions for a few hours.” Her gaze was intense and despite my best efforts, I couldn’t resist my next comment.  
“Well, there are better ways to forget yourself for a few hours, maybe one day I’ll show you.” I winked, completely forgetting myself in that moment. Emily was obviously caught off guard as well, because for once she was actually speechless…for a moment anyway.  
“Is that a promise?” Emily’s voice had deepened, a sultry tone replacing the playful one from earlier.  
There was silence for a few moments, Emily and I both refusing to be the first one to break eye contact. I resisted the urge to make the first move though, remembering our little bet.  
“Well that depends. From what I remember, I promised to have you begging for me.” I moved closer, resting a hand on her collarbone and slowly trailing my fingers between her breasts.  
With my hand being where it was, it was very easy to feel Emily’s heartbeat speeding up, even though she managed to keep a straight face. As I stepped closer, I could also hear the change in her breathing as my hand made its way down her stomach to rest on her hip.  
“You know, all of those judgmental parents at school think that you’re so innocent, I even heard one of them say you were a prude…” Emily said, and my mouth twisted down at the information, even though I already knew the other parents weren’t exactly fans of mine, or Emily’s for that matter. Although I’m not sure why she was bringing this up now, and misinterpreting her comment, I tried to pull my hand away, only to have a hand grab onto my wrist before my hand could even leave her body.  
“Okay…” I began, but Emily cut me off.  
“And I knew before I even met you that they were wrong.” She finished, and the smile that had dropped when she started speaking came back full force.  
“Yeah?” My tone somehow bordered on both shy and sexy, my hand resuming its movement, except this time it was to slip just under Emily’s shirt to feel the soft skin over her hip without her shirt getting in my way.  
“Yeah.” She responded, her voice trembling just the slightest amount, and I probably wouldn’t have noticed if I wasn’t standing so close.  
“How so?” I knew I was fishing now, but I was curious and Emily didn’t seem to mind if the goosebumps on her skin were any indication.  
“It’s not hard to tell when you know what you’re looking for. The only look at the surface, but I always saw through you.” Her hand came up to rest on my face. “There was a hunger in your eyes that I could see from a mile away.” Her thumb trailed down my lips as she spoke. “You’d bite your lip whenever you saw someone attractive, which is how I instantly knew you were interested in me, despite you trying to be subtle about it.” Emily’s cockiness returned at her comment, especially when I didn’t deny it. “But you know they won’t notice, which is what this whole Target mum style is about right? You can do what you want and no one looks twice.” She finished her explanation with a smirk, moving her hand to rest against my neck.  
“You’re quite observant.” I admitted, “But you are wrong about one thing…” I trailed off, waiting for her to bite, and she did not disappoint.  
“And what’s that?” She asked amusedly.  
“I never even tried to be subtle with you.” I gripped her other hip with my spare hand and pulled her closer as I spoke, trying to hide my nerves.  
“I guess you're right.” She murmured, her eyes trailing over my face fondly. “But I think that’s because you actually wanted a response from me.” She cocked her head, daring me to disagree. Not that I’d ever planned to.  
“That’s true.” I agreed, and before she could say anything else I leaned forward, brushing my lips at the very corner of her mouth, not even trying to pretend it was accidental. Emily attempted to move her head to the side to catch my lips properly, but I moved back just an inch, despite my instincts screaming at me to forget about our little game and to kiss her like I’d been wanting to since we first met. My competitiveness won.  
“Ready to beg yet?”


	7. Irresistible Temptation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stephanie wakes up to a nice surprise

"Good morning baby." A voice husked in my ear, and I groaned at the early wakeup call before the voice registered. I instantly shot up, taking note that I was not alone in my bed. The extra person in my bed swayed back to avoid being head butted by me, obviously anticipating the reaction.  
"What are you doing here...at 6am?" I asked, looking at the clock, my sleep addled brain caused the question to come out harsher than intended. A raised eyebrow told me that my tone had not gone unnoticed.  
"And here I was expecting a warm welcome since I made breakfast for you." The smirk on her face let me know that she had not taken my sharp response to heart. I softened, feeling immediately guilty.  
"Sorry, I-" My response was cut off with a sharp yelp as a hand came down to smack my left ass cheek.  
"What did I tell you about saying sorry?" She asked sternly, but with a smile still twitching at the corner of her lips. It took a second to remember what she was talking about.  
_Baby, if you apologize again, i'm going to have to slap the sorry out of you. ___  
"Oh." I stammered, still blushing from the slap.  
"Now come on, our food is getting cold." She lifted herself up as she spoke, crawling out of my bed and holding a hand out to me. Instinctively, I reached out and took her hand, allowing her to pull me to my feet. We slowly wandered towards the kitchen, with me following numbly behind the intoxicating woman. We were just outside the kitchen when something clicked and I came to a swift halt.  
"Wait, how did you even get in here? You didn't stay last night." I asked in confusion, briefly considering the theory that I had sleep texted her to come over, even though that was insane.  
"Miles let me in." She said casually, continuing her journey into the kitchen, and I of course followed.  
"Mum you're awake!" My son yelled, already so energetic despite the early hour. He jumped off his stool, almost landing flat on his face, but recovering to tackle my legs full force.  
"Hey smooch!" I cooed, despite being breathless from the sudden attack.  
"Look what Emily and I made!" He exclaimed excitedly, pulling me over to the bench where a variety of breakfast foods had been laid out, including bacon, eggs, pancakes, as well as assortment of cereal, yoghurt and fruit. I was so shocked and touched that I didn't even think to reprimand Miles for answering the door without me.  
"You guys did this for me? Why?" I couldn't look away from the counter, still not believing what was happening. It may not seem as big a deal to some people, but no one had ever done anything like this for me, not even Chris.  
"Do we need a reason?" A pair of strong but feminine arms wrapped around me from behind, a sneaky kiss being pressed to the back of my neck as Miles ran to the counter. It took my breath away and I briefly leaned my head back to rest against Emily.  
"I did the cereal!" My son yelled, proudly gesturing to the bowls of cereal. I stifled a laugh at the random spattering of cereal across the counter, obviously from my son's attempt at pouring the cereal himself.  
"He really wanted to help. How could I say no?" Emily murmured. I turned around in her arms, desperately wanting to kiss her right now, and I probably would have, if it wasn't for the little boy climbing back onto his stool at the counter. I settled for a kiss on her cheek instead.  
"Thank you." I murmured, unable to look away from her.  
"Of course." She replied softly, her eyes filled with a warmth that I rarely see from her. Before I could do something stupid, I grabbed Emily's hand and dragged her towards the table. I dropped a kiss on Miles' forehead and thanked him as well before climbing into my own seat and digging into the delicious looking food. It was all so domestic and while I loved every second of it, it was also pretty terrifying. Yet while I listened to Emily and my little boy cracking jokes at each other, I couldn't find it in myself to care. So I just enjoyed the moment.

____

The rest of the day went by far too quickly, and even spending the entire day with Emily didn’t seem like enough. Sean had dropped Nicky off at around midday, and since then, Emily and I had been alternating between playing with the boys, and letting them entertain themselves while we relaxed in the living room with our martinis (which I may or may not have bought a brand new martini kit for). At one point, I checked the time on my phone and realised that it was past seven in the evening, and Emily would undoubtedly be heading home soon, considering it was getting close to bedtime for the boys. She must have noticed me looking at the time in disappointment, because she moved from her position reclined against the arm off the couch and brought herself up onto her knees. She had a mischievous smile on her face, and started to slowly crawl towards me. I audibly gulped as she got close enough to brace her arms either side of me, her head moving next to mine so she could whisper in my ear.  
“You know baby, I think I’ve had too much to drink to safely drive, would you mind if we crash here for the night?” The brush of her breath against my ear was enough to cause shivers, but when Emily pressed her lips against the skin just below my ear, I lost all sense of coherency.  
“Uh...I mean, sure, you know, cause of…drinking, and uh…” I stuttered out, although my ramble was cut off by my own moan as Emily lightly bit into the skin of my neck. Before I could get a proper sentence out, Emily stood up gracefully, walking towards my bedroom without looking back.  
“Great! You don’t mind if I use your shower, right?” The question was clearly rhetorical, but I of course answered anyway.  
“Um, right. Yeah, go ahead. I'll put the boys to bed.” My mind slowly cleared without Emily so close to me, although I still walked around in a bit of a haze. 

The boys went to bed readily enough, obviously exhausted from their day of playing. I was a bit tired myself, still not really used to casual day drinking, unlike the woman in the ensuite bathroom connected to my bedroom. I flopped down gratefully onto my bed, happy to lie in this exact spot until Emily got out of the shower. As if reading my mind, I heard her smooth voice calling me from the bathroom.  
“Do you have any clothes I could borrow Steph? I don’t think it will be too comfortable sleeping in trousers.” Emily joked, and I got up instantly, walking to my closet.  
“Of course! I’ll try to find something that fits you.” I called back, already rifling through my drawers and frowning as I realised how difficult that may be due to the height difference. The baggy clothes she had previously borrowed were still in the dirty washing. I pulled out a loose t-shirt, but I knew that even the shirt would hang like a midriff shirt on the beautiful Amazonian woman. I shrugged, realizing that all of my clothes would have the same issue, and opened my pajama drawer from some shorts. Before I could reach in, a hand appeared from behind me and reached into the drawer, pulling out a red lingerie set that I had yet to wear. Never had a reason to really, but it was so beautiful I couldn’t resist when I saw it in the store. Now it was going to be the end of me it seems.  
“This’ll work.” Emily said flippantly, totally bypassing the shirt in my hands. I turned to face her, but my voice disappeared when I realised that she was standing there, completely naked. Her damp hair hung down her back and shoulders, a loose water droplet trailing enticingly in the valley of her breasts. For a second, I couldn’t move, I could only stare in awe. This woman seriously looked like she was sculpted from the gods, and I realised the painting in her foyer did not do her body justice. My eyes eventually made their way back to her face, to see Emily smiling wickedly, her eyes daring me.  
“Fuck it.” I cursed, yanking on the back of Emily’s hair to pull her into me so our lips could finally meet. The second I did, I got the intense feeling of making both the best decision of my life, and also a huge mistake. She knew how to kiss me exactly as I liked to be kissed, every touch of her fingers on my skin burned, every tug pulling me closer to her had me gasping for breath. The quiet sounds of pleasure that escaped her mouth made it more and more impossible to pull away, and despite her beauty, I was reminded that she was no goddess or angel. Once again, I imagined her as a siren, or a succubus even. Her beauty, her touch and her silver tongue had been luring me ever further into the sinful darkness of her world, and I had no desire to pull myself out of it.


	8. Monopolised Time and Sneaky Psychopaths

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The real Emily starts to unveil...

"Hey baby, Sean is insisting that we have lunch with him today, something about not seeing either of us much lately." Emily's amused tone carried through my phone as I plodded around the house, gathering up the dirty laundry that Miles always manages to spread throughout the house. Emily's words had me freezing in place, inwardly panicking at the thought of having lunch with Sean, knowing that what Emily and I were doing wasn't right. Technically we haven't done anything more than kiss, but that would have been bad enough even if Emily hadn't been naked at the time. To be honest, it was only from Emily's love of teasing me that we hadn't fucked against my closet door after the kiss. It certainly didn't help that the gorgeous blonde was doing everything in her power to tempt me, from running a hand across my stomach when she passed me, to outright grabbing my ass. It was maddening.  
I didn't realise I hadn't gotten so lost in my thoughts until I heard a throat clear through the phone, drawing my attention back to the conversation at hand.  
"Oh, of course!" I agreed, although the thought of trying to act normal in front of Sean now seemed impossible. "I didn't mean to monopolise your time." I said apologetically, realising that I had spend more time with Emily these last few weeks than her own husband.  
"I don't mind you monopolising my time at all baby." Her voice husked seductively, and I felt my insides warm. "Sean however, gets sulky if he thinks I'm neglecting him. Men are like children I swear." She sighed, sounding frustrated. I just laughed nervously, not knowing how to respond.  
"Well, I can come over if it's gets him off your back." I joked, hoping the joke was well received. Emily didn't laugh though and I started to get anxious, thinking that my joke had been in bad taste.  
"Steph, you know you don't have to do this, right? I can just tell him you are busy." Emily's voice had gone serious, and I responded in kind.  
"I know Em, and yeah, it'll be a little uncomfortable, but I don't mind Sean, and it'll help you out, so I'm happy to do it." My voice was sincere and the other woman must have picked up on it.  
"Thanks for this. Meet you at my place at eleven?" She asked and I nodded, before remembering that she couldn't see me and answered verbally.  
"Right, eleven. I'll see you later then, at lunch, at eleven." I babbled, cursing myself internally at my inability to act like a normal function person around this woman. "Okay bye!" I chirped through the phone and quickly hung up before I could embarrass myself anymore.

Three hours later, I was standing in front of the large Nelson house, checking my watch every few minutes so I wouldn't be knocking early. Miles had stayed here last night with Nicky and Sean, whereas Emily had to stay overnight in the city for work. So now it was just me standing there, juggling a cob loaf in my right hand and a nice bottle of gin in my left, despite Emily having told me not to bring anything. I checked my watch one more time and groaned when I realised I was still five minutes early. With my arm about to give out, I gave up and reached forward with my left hand to press the doorbell, not wanting Emily to open the door to an entire cob loaf splattered across the floor. After a moment, the door opened, although it was not Emily on the other side.  
"Stephanie, you made it! I feel like I haven't seen you in ages." Sean said with a grin, reaching forward to grab the food out of my hands, my arm giving a sigh of relief as the weight was removed.  
"Thanks. And it's good to see you, it has been a while." I smiled awkwardly, trying to not to immediately ask where Emily was. Sean stepped aside, gesturing for me to go ahead of him, following shortly behind me.  
"Emily is running a little late, some work emergency apparently. She should be home shortly though." Sean rested my lunch contribution beside a few other dishes that he had obviously spent the morning preparing and grabbed the bottle of gin to put in the freezer, the smile not having left his face. I forced mine to stay in place as well, even though I didn't know how I was supposed to act around the man without Emily around as a buffer.  
"Oh, okay. And where are the boys?" I asked, looking around the house for my son and his best friend. Before Sean could answer, a loud splash from outside answered my question. Walking out the back door, I was met with the sight of the young boys jumping in a large inflatable pool. I rode an eyebrow questioningly at Sean, who had followed me out.  
"Emily told me about the slip'n'slide you made for the boys, and I thought it might be nice for them to have something similar to use here in this heat." He explained, and I smiled more genuinely now, nodding towards the boys.  
"Well they certainly seem to be enjoying it." I commented, shaking my head in amusement as the boys splashed water at each other.  
"They haven't gotten out all morning." He informed me with a laugh. As he spoke, Miles looked over and saw me, jumping up and down in the water, waving excitedly.  
"Hi Mum!" He yelled, causing Nicky to turn around wave too, although he was a lot more reserved than Miles.  
"Hey Smooch! Hello Nicky!" I called back, before leaving them to their games and heading back inside with Sean. Our trip to the kitchen took an abrupt turn as we heard Emily's car pull into the driveway. As if in a daze, we both walked towards the front door, with me a few steps behind Sean. He pulled open the door as Emily was about to grab the handle. She raised an eyebrow at him, but smiled and gave him a quick kiss on the lips before stepping past him. To my surprise, she gave me a kiss on the cheek as she passed me, giving me a sly wink with her back to Sean, leaving me to try and keep a straight face. Even more shocking was that Sean didn't even react when she kissed me, presumably thinking it was a normal thing for girls to do. Which I suppose it is for some people, but it definitely was not just friendly between Emily and I. I instinctively knew that she had anticipated his reaction, or lack thereof. The cunning in her eyes was obvious to me, the woman obviously loved to play games and was very used to winning them. Oddly enough, the knowledge didn't diminish my interest in her, it just made her all the more fascinating.


	9. Awkward Lunches and Sean's Mistake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emily and Sean have Stephanie over for lunch, and Sean is a sweetheart...until he's an idiot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know! It's been ages, I'm sor...No, i'm not sorry (we all know Emily hates apologies). But thank you for those that stuck around!  
> So the format of the chapter messes up whenever I try to add italics, but I'm sure you clever cookies can work out where Emily would put specific emphasis on her words haha  
> Enjoy my lovelies!

The lunch was going surprisingly smoothly considering the awkward start when it was just Sean and I. The cob loaf had been swiftly demolished, especially once the boys had come racing in, somehow smelling the food despite being outside in the pool. The main courses followed shortly after, with everyone taking a seat around the fancy dining table and helping themselves to sizeable portions of the amazing food Sean had prepared. Having not eaten anything before coming over, my stomach was growling in discomfort, and I quickly shoved a huge forkful of food into my mouth. After doing so, I noticed Emily slowly eating her food in a classy manner, making me feel as much of a child as the two little boys sitting at the table with us. I immediately regretting my starving bear approach to eating as I saw the delicate bites Emily was taking of her salad. Blushing, I slowed down my eating, trying to look as elegant as Emily while eating my own lunch, although I knew that I could never look as classy as her, no matter how hard I tried. Looking down, I tried pretending that I just wasn’t that hungry, but Sean noticed my slowed enthusiasm and started questioning me.  
“Do you not like the food? There are other dishes, or I can make something else for you?” His questioning actually seemed terribly genuine, which just made me feel guilty as I realised I had made him doubt his cooking skills.   
“Oh no, the food is amazing! I just zoned out for a second.” I assured him, taking another bite of my lunch, which seemed to appease him. Emily wasn’t so easily fooled though, and when I looked over at her, I could tell she had noticed my sudden change in mood. She stared at me intently, and I could tell she knew exactly what I was thinking. How she always knew what I was thinking still eluded me, but I think it had something to do with the fact that she was entirely too intelligent to fall for weak facades and white lies. Holding my gaze, she made a point of gathering up a big mouthful of food and scarfing it down, staring at me the whole time. Knowing what she was doing, I smiled shyly before doing the same. Sean seemed especially surprised and happy to see Emily taking to her food so eagerly, not understanding the real reason she wasn’t eating like her usual reserved self.  
“So Stephanie, what tips are you going to give us on your vlog this week?” Sean asked, obviously trying to start up a conversation. I held Emily’s gaze for a second longer, knowing the only way he would know about my vlog is because Emily would have mentioned it to him. I switched my gaze over to Sean, seeing him watching me with honest interest.  
“Oh! I’m thinking of doing a tutorial on the uses of different oils that people have around the house. You’d be amazed what you can do with a bit of baby oil!” I joked, laughing lightly. Emily’s eyes sparkled mischievously, but before she could open her mouth to make a subtle innuendo, Sean made a major mistake and beat her to it.  
“Oh, I agree! There are lots of uses for baby oil…massage oil too.” The innuendo wasn’t lost on Emily and I, and while I don’t think he actually meant to say that out loud (judging by the expression on his face), it was too late to take it back. I shuffled uncomfortably in my seat while Emily stared daggers at her husband, and boy, if looks could kill. Sean quickly realised his error and cut the conversation short, staring down at his food. The rest of the meal passed in awkward silence, only broken by Miles and Nicky chattering away about their plans for the rest of the day. Even they seemed to sense the tension though, and their usual rambunctiousness had toned down so they were actually using their inside voices for once.   
Once everyone had finished eating, the boys ran back outside. Sean started gathering dishes in silence until Emily waved him off.  
“You can go, I’ll clean up.” The cold tone of her voice made the dismissal very clear, and Sean didn’t waste a second before escaping upstairs and away from Emily’s fury. There goes the plan for a nice lunch to appease her husband, not that I’m complaining since I’m always happy for more alone time with Emily. However, it would be nice if said alone time wasn’t tinged with the anger still emanating from the blonde who was now gathering up the discarded dishes. I quickly began helping her, packing away the leftover food and filling up the sink with water to wash all of the dirty dishes. I focussed entirely on the task at hand, trying to distract myself from the situation I felt like I had inadvertently caused. A pair of arms wrapped around my waist from behind and it seemed like my breathing both stopped and sped up at the same time, goosebumps running down my arms as Emily pressed her lips to my neck before spinning me around to face her.  
“Are you okay baby?” She murmured, bringing her face close to mine. I wanted to touch her, but with my hands covered in soapy water, all I could do was hold them awkwardly in the air beside me. Emily removed one of her hands and reached out blindly, her eyes never leaving mine as she handed me the dish towel that had been sitting on the bench behind me. I made sure to dry my hands thoroughly before bringing my arms around her neck, confident that Sean wouldn’t be coming downstairs again anytime soon. I certainly wouldn’t have if Emily’s terrifying rage had been directed at me. Realising that I had just been staring at Emily, I quickly brought myself back to reality so I could focus on our conversation.  
“Yeah, I’m fine!” I squeaked, not sounding at all convincing. Emily shook her head, not looking happy with my answer, but pulling me tighter nonetheless.  
“Don’t ever lie to me, Steph.” Her words were serious, and I turned my gaze towards the floor, ashamed.   
“Sorry, I just-ouch!” I jumped as Emily pinched my hip, and I knew it was because of my instinctive apology. I took a second to gather up my thoughts before speaking again. “I just feel bad that I ruined lunch.” I admitted, knowing I sounded miserable. Emily actually looked shocked at my answer, and shock wasn’t an emotion I ever expected to see on her. She recovered quickly, her right hand moving to rest softly against my cheek.  
“Baby, you didn’t ruin lunch. You did nothing wrong. My husband is the one who hit on my best friend.” Her words reassured me a little, but I still felt bad.  
“Yeah, but if I hadn’t agreed to lunch, then he wouldn’t have had the opportunity to flirt with someone else, not that I can understand why he’d even want to.” I responded, meaning what I said. Why the hell would Sean flirt with me or any other woman, when he was married to someone like Emily? Her eyes narrowed, and I could tell she really didn’t like my response.  
“Okay, one…my husband is a grown man, and despite acting otherwise, he decides whether or not he’s going to flirt with someone else, not you. Two, despite being fucking pissed at him about it, I’m not surprised he chose you to flirt with, because you’re sexy as fuck.” I blushed at the second part, but she wasn’t done. “Three, I don’t give a shit that Sean is flirting with someone else, I was pissed because he was flirting with you.” Emily finished, and my blush deepened considerably as her words sunk in.   
“Oh…” I breathed, unable to summon up a better response. I just gazed at Emily, my eyes flicking between her eyes and her lips. I bit my lip and Emily brought her lips to brush just barely against mine.  
“You’re mine, baby.” She growled, and there was no mistaking the possessive tone in her voice, especially when her hands gripped tighter to my waist. Instead of being mad about her trying to claim ownership of me (despite me being furious at any previous partner that attempted that), I actually felt blessed that someone like Emily would want me to be hers. As if proving her point, Emily finally pressed her lips to mine and I sighed against her mouth, feeling like it had been way too long since I’d felt her lips, despite it only being a week or so since that night in my room. After a few minutes, I broke away, staring at her with awe, our heavy breaths mingling together. I still felt as if I was in a dream and that I would wake up any moment to realise that the last month had been a dream and Emily was something I had conjured from my imagination.  
“How would you feel about joining our sons for a swim?” Emily whispered, refusing to let go of me. I thought of the boys playing outside, and a part of me hesitated, wanting to take the other woman upstairs and have my wicked way with her. The other part however, wanted to join the boys, who I hadn’t spent much time with over the last couple of days as they had been staying with Sean. After a moment, I agreed, following Emily as she led the way to her room for a change of clothes.  
“I can’t wait to see you in a bikini.” She threw over her shoulder with a wink, causing me to stumble over the first step of the stairs before following Emily up.  
“I swear to god, Emily.”


	10. Wrestling Matches and Closet Trysts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sean's still in the doghouse, everyone else goes swimming.

The boys went absolutely crazy when Emily and I joined them in the pool, immediately leaping into the arms of their respective mothers. Their combined chatter was nearly impossible to understand as they yelled over each other, both trying to explain their game and convince us to join in at the same time. Eventually, we caught onto the fact that they were wrestling each other, with the loser being the first person to end up with their head underwater. I chuckled, and agreed to play as long as Emily did. She glared at me, but I could tell it wasn’t serious, and I knew she had already intended to agree because of how quickly she gave into their requests. 

“We’ll play, with one small change.” She paused, leaving our sons in silence for once, waiting in suspense for the rule change. I quirked an eyebrow at her, also wondering where this was leading. “Let’s make it more fun, and you two can jump on our shoulders and the first one to push the other off wins.” Emily suggested, and I snorted at the fact that she had convinced our sons that she had come up with a new game for them, despite it being a very common one. I didn’t comment though, not wanting to ruin the fun as the boys squealed in excitement. They wasted no time climbing onto our shoulders, Emily and I having to crouch underwater so they could climb up. We counted down from three and the two boys immediately reached for each other, putting everything they could into knocking each other down. Emily and I laughed as we struggled to hold them up, although I was obviously struggling a lot more than the woman across from me. 

“This is so not fair!” I huffed breathlessly, knowing Nicky had a huge advantage being held by the toned, nearly six foot tall woman.

“Don’t be a sore loser Steph.” She teased, and I narrowed my eyes, a plan forming. Emily caught the look, and knowing I was up to something, tried to stop me before I could act on it.

“Don’t you dare-“ She began, but got cut off as I let go of Miles with one hand to dig my fingers lightly into Emily’s ribs. She let out the most girly shriek I had ever heard from her and flinched away I continued to tickle her. It almost worked too, as Nicky wobbled dangerously from the sudden movement. Unfortunately, my actions had also left me with only one hand holding onto Miles, and the lack of support gave Nicky the leverage he needed to make one final push, sending Miles back into the water. He resurfaced with a splutter, but just laughed instead of being upset that he lost.

“Again! Again!” He chanted, Nicky quickly joining in. 

“I have a better idea.” Emily said, but before anyone could ask what she meant, she had ducked back underwater, grabbing onto my legs without warning and pulling me so I was sitting on her shoulders. She resurfaced with a gasp, while I screamed at the unexpected action, grabbing onto her shoulders as she rose quickly to a standing position.

“What are you doing?” I squealed, shivering slightly as the air hit my skin. She ignored me, addressing the boys directly.

“If you can get Stephanie down in twenty seconds, you can have ice cream.” She bribed, an idea that Nicky and Miles agreed with wholeheartedly. After another countdown, the boys both grabbed onto one of my arms, trying to pull me from Emily’s shoulders. I was just glad that I was the one being held up, because with how distracted I was at the feel of Emily’s skin between my legs (even for such an innocent reason), there was no way I’d be able to focus enough to keep her from being knocked down. The woman below me actually managed to keep a surprisingly good grip on my legs, until the boys moved behind her to tug me backwards. At that point, there was nothing Emily could do to keep us both from toppling backwards with a splash. The boys cheered loudly, causing me to smile indulgently at them as they high-fived in victory.

“Nicky, you and Miles can go ask your dad for ice cream. Tell him we said it was okay.” She instructed, and the boys wasted no time scrambling out of the pool and running full speed towards the house.

“Make sure you’re dry before you go in the house smooch!” I yelled anxiously, not wanting the boys to make a mess of the Emily’s immaculate floors.

“Okay!” He yelled back, both boys drying off quickly before disappearing into the house.

I felt myself relax as we finally had a moment of quiet, leaning against the side of the pool and closing my eyes. My head tilted upwards, taking a moment to enjoy the warm sun. 

“I don’t think I’ve had a chance to tell you how fucking good you look in that bikini.” Emily’s voice husked from next to me. I opened my eyes to see her gaze wandering from my face and down my scantily clad body, obviously enjoying seeing me in the swimsuit she had let me borrow. She placed a hand on my stomach, brushing it lightly down my abdomen and thighs. I was leaning against the side of the pool closest to the house, so I knew my lower body was hidden, an advantage that Emily quickly used to tease me. My breath caught as she traced her fingers along the string holding the black bikini together. I knew that we couldn’t actually do anything with the pool in sight of the kitchen, where Sean would be getting the boys their ice cream any minute. Plus it would feel wrong considering the boys would be swimming in there. Still, just imagining what it would feel like to be with Emily had my breaths shortening in want.

“I could say the same to you.” I breathed, my heated gaze travelling over her dark red bikini, the colour contrasting perfectly with her tan skin and blonde hair. Seeing so much of her perfect skin reminded me of our first kiss, when she had tempted me with her fully naked body. The image was enough to have me closing my eyes and moaning lightly, eventually having to put some space between us so I didn’t do something stupid, like kissing her senselessly right here in the pool. As if reading my thoughts, Emily spoke up.

“Let’s go.” She ordered, not even waiting for a response as pulled herself out of the pool, helping me out after her. I was so shocked at the suddenness of her movement that I just followed her dumbly until we were at the door. Emily handed me one of the towels we had set out earlier, and I continued running on autopilot, quickly drying myself and following her into the house. 

We passed Miles and Nicky who were eating bowls of ice creams on the couch, and I fought the instinctive urge to tell him to eat at the table, figuring Sean was the one that said they could eat there. Besides, I had more pressing things to focus on as Emily dragged me towards her room, stopping at the study on the way to make sure Sean was still hiding away in there. I felt a little bad that he had to hide away in his own house, but when he stared a little too long at not just Emily, but me as well, I was reminded why Emily sent him away in the first place. When he realised what he was doing, he snapped his gaze away, but not quickly enough it seems. Emily shifted to stand in front of me so he couldn’t see my barely dressed form but she didn’t comment, although I could see the muscles in her back tensing. 

“The water bill hasn’t been paid yet.” Emily said shortly, and I wondered why it was so important to tell him that now, until I realised it wasn’t. She had come up with both a reason to check on Sean’s whereabouts and to keep him busy for a little while longer. 

“Uh yeah, I’ll do it now.” He stuttered, moving to stand but Emily stopped him.

“The utility card is in the draw.” She said, gesturing to the desk before swiftly turning and continuing her journey towards the bedroom. She led us straight through the room and into the closet where we had stashed our clothes earlier. Instead of getting changed though, she closed the door behind us and swiftly grabbed me to press my back up against it. I gasped but it was muffled as Emily kissed me, her hands drifting up my back and I suddenly felt my bikini top loosen as she undid it with a single tug of the string. It fell to the floor and long fingers brushed against my bare breasts.

“Fuck!” I cursed, biting back a moan as Emily’s fingers lightly teased my nipples, while her lips pressed against my neck. I felt her chuckle at the rare curse that escaped my lips.

“Oopsie.” She teased, and I would have rolled my eyes if I wasn’t so distracted by how amazing this all felt.

“Shut up.” I gasped, unable to come up with a witty response. She chuckled again, but didn’t comment this time, choosing instead to trail her hands down my stomach to rest lightly against my bikini bottoms. She hesitated for a second, pulling back to look at me in question. Knowing she was looking for permission, I nodded weakly, resting my hands on top of her to help her push them down. Now standing completely naked before her, I actually felt shy, although Emily seemed to sense it and was quick to put my mind at ease.

“God, you’re beautiful.” She breathed, before pressing a hand between my legs, the other resting against my neck to pull my lips to hers once more. It was a good thing she had too, because as soon as she touched me, a moan rumbled in my throat, and it was only muffled by Emily’s lips. We both felt the urgency of the situation, knowing that we had limited time, but just looking at Emily and kissing her soft lips had me ready for her before she even touched me. Her fingers slipped into me with ease, and this time we both groaned, breaths speeding up as we finally got to do what we’d been waiting weeks for. My arms wrapped around her, my nails digging into her back as I held on for dear life. Instead of complaining though, the sting seemed to spur Emily on, her fingers moving harder and faster until I came without warning, breaking away from her lips so I could bite into her shoulder to muffle the sounds of ecstasy pouring from my lips.

When I came back to myself, I saw Emily watching me, blue eyes darkened considerably. Before my breath had even returned completely, I was already reaching for her bikini so I could return the favour. Before I could even reach them, she had grabbed both of my wrists and pinned them above my head. I looked at her in confusion, although got distracted as she kissed me softly, a far cry from her previous attitude as she fucked me roughly against the door.

“Someone’s going to come looking for us soon.” She murmured, kissing me again.

“But…” I almost whined, wanting so desperately to touch her. She seemed to know what I was feeling, and smirked as she reached around to grab my ass. 

“Next time, baby.” She promised, kissing me one last time before moving to change back into her clothes. I pouted, but then her words caught up with me, realising that she had insinuated that this was going to happen again.

Next time.


	11. More Confessions and Unfortunate Circumstances

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reality is really starting to kick in for our two favourite women.

It was just two days later that I was back at Emily’s house, having picked up both boys from school while Emily dealt with yet another emergency at work. It was nearing 6pm when Emily finally returned home, her feet dragging under the weight of yet another exhausting day. My heart went out to her as it always did when she came home in this state, especially as it seemed to happen more often than not. There wasn’t much I could do to help her though, so I did what little I could to make her life easier, which included baking cookies for the boys, and having a martini ready for Emily when she got home. She reached for the drink gratefully, gently grabbing the glass and leaning in to press a soft kiss against my lips at the same time. It was short, but even the gentle brush of her soft lips had my cheeks heating up, which of course Emily saw and smirked at. She said nothing about my blush though, instead just thanking me quietly, dragging herself over to the couch and sitting down less gracefully than usual. 

“You’re getting really good at these.” She called out to me where I was still standing in the kitchen, silently cursing that I was still preparing the cookies and couldn't join her. 

“Well, I had a good teacher.” I joked, winking at the exhausted woman on the couch, trying to lift her spirits. It seemed to work a little, with Emily giving me a slight smile and downing the rest of the drink, before lying back on the couch. 

“Thanks for all of this Stephanie, I honestly don’t know I survived before you came along.” Emily mumbled, her voice becoming nearly incoherent with how sleep-addled it had become. I was about to respond when I looked at her again. I noticed that her breathing had deepened, and as I watched, one of her hands slid off the couch to hang next to it. Emily had passed out on the couch. Although it wasn’t that late, I knew she had been doing ridiculous hours at work over the last week and knew it had finally caught up to her. I continued baking quietly, shushing the boys and shooing them back upstairs to do their homework after they bounced downstairs to check how the cookies was going. In the meantime, I flitted around the house, tidying up what mess I could find to give the exhausted blonde a little more time to rest. 

 

Forty minutes later, I decided it was time to wake Emily, knowing that if she slept any longer, she wouldn't sleep tonight. I reluctantly walked over to her, trying to gently shake her awake.  
“Em, time to wake up.” I whispered, trying to coax her awake. When that didn’t work, I shook her a little harder. “Emily. Time to get up.” I tried, speaking a little louder, dragging out the words. Instead of getting up though, the woman just grunted and turned to face the back of the couch, grabbing one of the cushions and putting it over head.

“Five more minutes.” She grumbled, her voice barely audible through the pillow. I giggled at her childish behaviour, not feeling bad considering I had seen the tiny smile she tried to hide before covering her face.

“Five minutes then.” I agreed, a wicked idea in my head. 

Silently walking up the stairs, I gently knocked on Nicky’s door, walking in to see the two boys surrounding by a mound of Nicky’s toys. I resisted the urge to tell them to clean up though, knowing it was better for them to clean it when we were about to leave, or they would just make a mess again. 

“Is the cookies ready mum?” Miles asked, getting ready to stand up but I came and sat down next to them instead. 

“They are, but we’re going to stay up here for just a little longer.” I told them, explaining the game plan, both boys completely on board. 

A few minutes later, all three of us crept down the stairs, trying to stifle our giggles. We got it under control as we all knelt down next to the couch, Emily still facing the back of the couch. Wide grins on our faces, we took turns poking Emily’s back and legs. She tried to ignore the onslaught, but when I jabbed a particular sensitive part of her ribs, Emily laughed, jerking away from the offending hand. 

“Dammit, you are bloody persistent.” She said, turning towards us with a smile, a smile that quickly turned into a surprised shriek when she came face to face all three of us. We laughed as Emily recoiled in shock, and she slapped my arm gently.

“Jesus fucking Christ, you scared the crap out of me.” She exclaimed, pulling herself into a sitting position.

“Oopsie, oopsie!” Miles chanted, causing another round of laughter. Emily’s chest was still heaving and it quickly drew my attention. I didn’t even have time to look away before Emily caught on, and her gaze turned wicked but I felt safe in the knowledge that she couldn’t retaliate with the boys there. Oh, how wrong I was. 

“Hey, little dude!” She greeted her son, pulling him closer for a hug since she hadn’t had a chance to see him since coming home, planting a kiss on his cheek before letting him go. She moved onto Miles next, surprising me, although I wasn’t sure why since it was obvious she cared for my son. Finally she pulled me into her, whispering in my ear, “I’m going to get you back for this,” she whispered, before also planting a kiss to my cheek. However, this kiss landed on the very corner of my lips in what I knew was a very deliberate move. My breath stopped for a moment, but I pulled myself together just in time to respond to her challenge.

“I’d like to see you try.” I responded, speaking normally, knowing the boys had no idea what I was talking about.

 

Dinner was a quick affair, Sean still avoiding our eyes after the incident the other day, and the boys eager to get back to their games upstairs. Seeming a lot more refreshed after her nap, it didn’t take long until Emily and I were back in our usual spot on the couch, drinks in hand and the conversation gradually drifting into more serious territory as time went on.

“It’s my fault…” I told her, and of course I was fucking crying. I couldn’t stop the words coming out though, finding myself vulnerable to Emily once again. “It’s my fault they’re both dead.” I almost managed to sound calm, but a slight quiver in my voice gave me away. Emily didn’t let me continue my self-loathing, putting down her glass to sit up straight before me.

“Hey, don’t do that.” She said softly, and I didn’t argue, because how could you ever tell Emily that she’s wrong? “People do terrible things for their own fucked up reasons. That’s on them, that’s not on you.” She continued, and I had to admit she had a point, although the guilt still didn’t go away completely. It probably never would. I was quiet for a moment, tears still trickling down my face.

“I miss him.” I confessed, looking away from her when I said it, although I forced myself to look at her while she responded.

“Which one?” She asked in the same tone as before, like she was coaxing a frightened animal out of its hiding place.

“Both?” I said, my statement coming out more like a question. “I’m…” My voice broke a few times before I managed to get the last word out “lonely.” We both realised then just how broken I truly felt over the whole situation with Davis and Chris. “I think loneliness probably kills more people than cancer.” I breathed, looking away from her once again, only bringing my eyes back to meet hers when a gentle hand rested against my cheek.

“Hey.” She said with a small smile, and I returned it with a slightly weaker one. “Come here.” Her face got closer, and it didn’t take me long to meet her kiss. She obviously meant for it to be a comforting kiss, but as soon as she kissed me, my common sense went out the window and I kissed her back properly. After a quick second of surprise, Emily pressed her lips back firmly against mine until I pulled away suddenly. I tried not to focus on how Emily licked her lips after I pulled away, as if she were enjoying the taste of my lips even after they were gone. 

I was silent for several seconds, my face probably showing my shock at the sudden change in mood between me crying and almost jumping Emily. I started wiping tears from my face as Emily spoke again, lifting up a hand to wipe under my eyes.

“You’re okay.” She soothed. “Wanna order pizza?” She was obviously trying to distract me from my chaotic thoughts but it wasn’t working for once. I had just broken down out of nowhere, told the woman I have feelings for that I missed my ex-husband and brother, and then proceeded to turn her comforting kiss into something more. 

“Oh god! God, I’m so embarrassed.” I admitted, not really knowing what else to say, trying so hard not to apologize. After all, Emily Nelson hates apologies. Emily smiled softly, letting out a small laugh.

“Oh, cause of that? No, it’s all good, baby. It’s all good, just another Tuesday.” She said casually, leaning back against the couch. I wasn’t sure if she was talking about the crying or the kiss, but I just nodded, leaning back as well. 

 

We talked for the next few hours, filling the silence with whatever came into our heads. I thought about escaping after our earlier conversation, but Emily insisted on me staying the night considering Miles and I would have to take an Uber home otherwise, and then take another one back at a ridiculous time in the morning to pick up my car. I certainly wasn’t going to be driving tonight after drinking through the afternoon and into the night. Miles had already fallen asleep in Nicky’s room at this point, and when I started yawning constantly, Emily led me through the house to the spare bedroom, even though I had stayed in here several times before. I couldn’t exactly share Emily’s bed when Sean was home, I thought bitterly to myself. Although I knew logically that Emily couldn’t stay with me whether she wanted to or not, considering it would look incredibly suspicious, I couldn’t stop my mood from dampening again as I sat on the edge of the empty bed. Emily sighed, coming to sit next to me, her hand resting on my thigh.

“You know I don’t like this either, right? I’d much rather stay with you.” Her response showed just how well she knew me at this point, knowing what I was thinking without me saying anything.

“I know.” I answered, although I wasn’t actually sure if I was lying or not. After all, she’d been with Sean for years, had a child with him, and it was hard to forget that, even when she was looking at me with her intense eyes, begging me to believe her. 

“Steph…” She tried, but I cut her off with a quick kiss.

“It’s okay, Em.” I said, trying to make the lie more convincing with a smile. I could tell she saw through me, but didn’t say anything this time, instead just staring at me intensely while I tried not to squirm under her knowing look. 

“We’re going to talk about this at some point.” She promised, giving me a longer kiss before standing up and walking to the door. “Goodnight Steph.” She smiled and walked out, closing the door behind her.

“Goodnight Emily.” I whispered at the closed door, knowing she could no longer hear me.


	12. Mixed Signals and Final Decisions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stephanie fails at being a ninja and is forced to make a decision.

After a restless night with very little sleep, I was up before the sun had even breached the horizon. Miles had grumbled when I woke him but followed me quietly after I promised him pancakes from his favourite diner for breakfast. He wanted to wake Nicky to say goodbye, but I convinced him to just leave a note, knowing that if both boys were awake, there would soon be enough noise to wake the entire household. We were halfway to Ruby’s Diner when my phone buzzed with a text, which I obviously ignored for safety reasons. It definitely didn’t have anything to do with the fact that it was most likely a message from Emily, who must have already noticed my absence.

After our breakfast was served, Miles began shovelling food into his mouth as usual, despite my protests for him to slow down. I smiled when I looked at the contents of his plate though, even with his pancakes covered in chocolate syrup, he still asked for a bunch of fruit as a second topping, rather than ice cream. Every time I looked at my son I felt a strong sense of pride that I had managed to make such a perfect human being, and I knew I could get through anything with him at my side. As soon as I had that thought though, my phone beeped again, reminding me that I had never responded to the first one. Miles may get me through everything, but that doesn’t mean it was always easy. Reluctantly, I pulled my phone out of my handbag, holding my breath as I opened up my text thread with Emily to see two unread messages.

_‘I’m guessing you aren’t sneaking out at 5am because you have errands to run?’_

_‘We are still going to talk baby.’_

I let out a shuddering breath that I forgot I was holding, tempted to ignore the messages but knowing it was rude to do so. Besides, Emily would probably just rock up at my house again, and it was very difficult to stay firm in Emily’s presence. Instead, I just responded with an attempt at humour, hoping to buy myself some time.

_‘How did you even catch me? I thought I was being sneaky like a ninja.’_

I sent the message even as I cringed at its content, knowing it was a lame joke, but also hoping that Emily would choose to tease me rather than press the issue. I should have known better though.

_‘My bedroom window faces the driveway. Come over this afternoon, Sean can take the kids for a few hours.’_

I sighed, but knew I couldn’t say no to her, so I sent a quick text back.

_‘When?’_

Her response was prompt.

_'2pm. I have to go into the office for a few hours.'_

_‘Okay.’_

My response was short, and after a few minutes without another text from Emily, I figured she wasn’t going to bother answering to the one word answer. After another minute or so I was proved wrong as my phone dinged one more time.

_‘Tell Miles that Nicky and I said goodbye.’_

I smiled at the message, responding with a quick affirmation before my phone went silent. Guilt settled in my stomach though as I thought about Nicky waking up to find his friend had left without saying goodbye. I suppose I did the same with Emily, except she was old enough to understand why. I couldn’t ease my guilt about bailing on Emily, but I could at least do so with Nicky.

_‘How about I pick up Nicky while you go to work, and then Nicky won’t have to say goodbye. Plus it’s the least I can do since Sean is watching them this afternoon. We are just finishing our breakfast and then we can come and get him?’_

 

With the other woman’s approval, Miles and I were once again in front of the house that I had basically fled from just a few hours ago. My knuckles had barely left the front door when a dark haired blur ran past me in a beeline towards Miles. I chuckled as the boys wasted no time chattering away, trying to guess what I had planned for today since Emily and I refused to tell them. I chuckled as they clambered over each other into the back seat, fighting over who got to sit in the middle. I snorted lightly when I thought about how much they were going to hate the middle seat when they got a little taller.

My smile got wiped off my face as a sharp tug on my arm pulled my inside the house, and I came face to face with Emily, who guided me so the door was blocking the boy’s view of us. Without hesitation, she leaned down to kiss me, melting my resolve instantly as I stood on my toes to kiss her back firmly in way that was becoming familiar. As quickly as it began though, Emily pulled back but stared at me intently.

“You are definitely coming this afternoon right?” The blonde woman asked, with a confident façade that probably would have fooled anyone else, except I knew her well enough at this point to detect the tiny hint of vulnerability lurking underneath the surface.

My heart hurt as I came to realise that I was causing her pain, and that I spent so long convincing myself that she was only pretending to want me, that I didn’t even consider that I was giving her the same impression by sending so many mixed signals. I was the one that would kiss her, touch her, and then run away when things got real. Even worse was the fact that I would run away and confuse her, even though I knew I would just end up coming back for her. I knew I had to stop being so indecisive and make a decision before it destroyed both of us. I quickly kissed her one more time, taking her hand in mine, her hand tensing for just a moment before relaxing and lightly grasping my own when I answered.

“I’ll be here, I promise.”


	13. Chapter 13

“Did you see my fly kick, I was like AHHH!” Nicky yelled, attempting to demonstrate the karate move the boys had seen an older kid pull off. Nicky’s attempt at copying the move resulted in him losing his balance and falling on his backside. Before I could freak out, he was back on his feet like nothing happened and I smiled in amusement.

“I take it you guys had fun then?” I asked, to a chorus of enthusiastic agreement from both boys.

“It was so cool mum! We saw this guy break a piece of wood with his hand!” Miles exclaimed, bouncing with excitement. I smiled at his eagerness but made sure to warn him not to try it until the instructors said he could. He pouted but promised, as did Nicky with some reluctance.

I eventually got the boys settled down in front of the TV, the exciting day finally taking its toll as they lay half asleep on either end of the couch.

“Is my mum staying here again tonight?” Nicky asked, and I stopped breathing at the question, but relaxed when he didn’t seem suspicious, just curious.

“I’m not sure sweetie. Why, would that bother you?” I asked him, feeling bad that the mother he rarely got to see had spent so many nights at my house. Logically, I knew that Nicky was normally asleep by the time Emily got home from work anyway, but I felt bad nonetheless.

“No. It means I get to hang out with Miles, and I actually get to see mum more when we are with you, because she isn’t trying to avoid my dad.” He said it so coolly that I furrowed my eyebrows, taken aback by how calm he was when it came to the matter of his parent’s unstable marriage. It never ceased to surprise me just how grown up he really was, although I suppose I really shouldn’t be that surprised considering he had lived a far less sheltered life than Miles. I moved from my spot on the recliner to sit on the floor in front of Nicky. Miles had already drifted off to sleep at this point, making me more comfortable talking to Nicky about such a delicate subject.

“Do you want to talk about it? You know, about your parents fighting?” He snorted at the question and shook his head.

“You sound like my mum. I’m fine though, I promise.” He smiled at me, but said nothing else on the matter. I wanted to press, but I also knew it wasn’t my place. Watching him now though, there was a serenity to his demeanour that made me genuinely believe that he was okay despite everything going on around him. I let the conversation die, my gaze jumping between the movie playing and each boy in turn until Nicky also fell asleep.

They were still sleeping when Sean picked them up, both of us quietly carrying our respective children to the car. He waved at me as he pulled out of the driveway, smiling as I returned it with a wave of my own. As soon as he was out of sight I let out a relieved breath, always feeling tense in his presence, although I suppose that was to be expected. The relief didn’t last long though as I remembered Emily’s visit, and the discussion of my embarrassing Roadrunner impersonations.

I bolted back inside, running a shower and making myself presentable just in time for a firm knock to echo through the house.

 I opened the front door to Emily dressed in another one of her gorgeous three piece suits, obviously having come over straight from work. She greeted me with a quick kiss on the cheek, obviously testing the waters since I basically ran out on her this morning. A decision I still felt guilty about. The normally brash woman was unusually quiet as I led her to the kitchen. Neither of us wanted to break the silence, so Emily took her seat quietly while I went to the freezer, pulling out frozen gin and glasses. She began to smile, the expression making her face seem lighter.

“Do you just keep a frozen gin and glasses on hand for when I come over?” She asked, although she already knew the answer.

“Maybe.” I mumbled, going red and looking away from her, my eyes glued to the martini glasses as I fixed our drinks. I was staring at them so intently that I didn’t notice Emily get out of her seat, jumping in surprise when she wrapped her arms around me from behind. I needed to hang a damn bell around her neck before I have a heart attack.

“You’re adorable.” She mumbled, although I wasn’t sure if she was referring to my startled reaction or the martini kit I kept ready for her visits. I turned in her arms and was met with a passionate kiss, her earlier reservations forgotten. Mine started to fade as well as I fell into the comforting familiarity of her lips, and it was actually Emily who pulled away first. I chased her lips for a second, pouting when she pulled away with chuckle. Her face dropped a little though and my heart stuttered at the sad confused look on her face.

“Do you want me or not Stephanie?" Blunt as usual. "I can’t keep doing this hot and cold thing with you running away all the time.” She pulled away from me and I instantly felt colder, missing the comfort of her touch.

“Of course I do.” I replied instantly, not having any doubts in my mind about just how badly I wanted her, and feeling guilty that I had made her think otherwise.

“Then can we please talk this out? I know the situation isn’t ideal, but we can make it work.”  She was almost pleading, and it made my heart ache. I so badly wanted to give into her, but I had to think of Miles and Nicky.

“How is this supposed to work? You’re married and have a child. If this goes bad, if we get caught, it’s going to affect our sons.” There was no disguising the despondency in my voice, and Emily stepped closer to me again as I gulped at the close proximity.

“So we don’t get caught.” She said it so matter-of-factly that I almost believed it could be that easy. It wasn’t.

“Em…” I whined, and she sighed, taking my hands in hers and looked at me seriously.

“I understand why you’re worried Steph, believe me I have thought about it as well. I just know that I want to take the risk. Not just for us either, I feel better when you’re around. I _am_ better. I’m better for Nicky too, I’ve learnt so much just watching you with Miles. And…” She hesitated, and I found myself curious as to what she was going to say, while still feeling warm from her previous statement.

“And?” I prodded gently. She clenched her jaw, seeming to struggle about whether to continue. I gently pulled one of my hands free and rested it on her shoulder, slowly sliding it up her neck to rest against her cheek. She exhaled shakily, her breath brushing the skin of my wrist and causing goosebumps to rise up my arm. She closed her eyes for a second, before opening them to stare deeply into mine. I was powerless to do anything but stare back, the piercing blue entrancing in its intensity.

“And I honestly have no idea what we’re doing but I just…” She hesitated again, but forged ahead without any probing. “I just know that I don’t want this to end.” She clenched her jaw and looked down, but didn’t move away from me. I moved both hands to hand loosely around her neck, and she unconsciously wrapped her arms around my waist in response. She looked back up when I began to speak.

“Of course I want this, but we’d need to be next level sneaky to get away with it. Plus you still have a husband.” I added, wincing that I almost forgot about him. I really was selfish when it came to Emily. The blonde woman pondered for a moment, but didn’t seem overly concerned.

“We’ve done pretty well hiding thing so far, but it’s probably for the best if we are a bit more careful from now on.” I nodded but said nothing as she continued. “And if it wasn’t for Nicky, I doubt Sean and I would have lasted this long and we both know it. That’s what made it easy to convince him to pursue that TA after the threesome.” She said it so casually, while my eyebrows shot up in surprise.

“Wait, you told him to go for that TA? Why?” Not understand why she would encourage her husband to cheat on her. The irony was not lost on me either.

“If he’s out with her, he’s not bothering me.” She answered with a shrug, while I just watched her in disbelief and amusement.

“You are really something else.” I said with a smirk, and she grinned back cheekily.

“So I’ve been told.” She punctuated her comment with a wink, and I laughed quietly before we both fell silent. We enjoyed a few moments of tranquility before I had to continue our earlier conversation.

“So are we really doing this?” I asked, waiting anxiously for her response, which came in the form a kiss. My arms tightened around her neck, while her hands dropped to the back of my thighs and easily lifting me to straddle her hips. I squeaked, my short laugh cut off by Emily’s lips recapturing mine as she carried me to the bedroom.

So, I guess that’s a yes.


End file.
